Welcome
Our community was founded in 1996, after free liberal services had already taken place in Cologne in an egalitarian minyan for several years. Since then, there has been a liberal, progressive community in Cologne again. However, liberal Jews have existed much longer in our city: Before the Shoa, the Cologne Jews celebrated their services as part of German Reform Judaism in the synagogue on Roonstraße - where today the unity community organizes orthodox services.
In our community, women and men pray together, women pray just like men: In the Jewish Liberal Community Cologne Gescher LaMassoret, we value gender equality in worship and in life, like all liberal Jewish communities in Germany. We want to live a contemporary, modern Judaism, but based on Jewish tradition. This connection is also found in our name: Gescher LaMassoret – Bridge to Tradition.
Equality also means that the sexual orientation of our members does not matter to us as progressive Jews. Every Jewish person can develop his faith and his Jewishness according to his personal orientation. And: We place great value on dialogue with other religions - especially with Christians and Muslims as the religious groups that are socially dominant in Germany today.
After a period of rabbinical care by guest rabbis, we were very happy to have found our own rabbi in Natalia Verzhbovska for several years. After her move to another larger community, Rabbi Stefan Tiwy followed her. Since May 1, 2024, Dr. Daniel Katz has been our new rabbi. We look forward to the new accents he will certainly set.
The Jewish Liberal Community Cologne Gescher LaMassoret is currently in a spatial interim state. The only liberal community in the North Rhine-Westphalian Rhineland with its own synagogue currently has to make do with a temporary solution in Merkenich, as the synagogue on Stammheimer Straße needs extensive renovation. Since 2019, the community has therefore had to move to various other premises several times. In addition to the renovation of the interior rooms on the ground floor and basement of the synagogue, the outdoor area in the backyard also needs to be renewed. The plans for the conversion of the synagogue were taken over by the renowned architectural office Paul Böhm, and the design planning was completed at the beginning of 2023.
A significant proportion - the entire area of security - is financed by the state of NRW. We receive support from the city of Cologne and count on the solidarity financial aid of the NRW synagogue associations. However, a significant proportion of the financing is still unclear and exceeds the financial strength of the small community.
We are therefore looking for support in the Cologne citizenship and in the region in order to be able to successfully implement this renovation project. Donations are of great importance in order to enable the renovation of the synagogue and to strengthen the traditional, liberal reformed and constantly reforming Judaism in Cologne and beyond. Every contribution, whether large or small, is valuable and contributes to the fact that the only liberal community in the Rhineland finds a welcoming and contemporary "home" in Cologne again. If you are interested in co-financing entire areas such as the equipment of youth rooms, windows, etc., please feel free to contact us. Here fits the donation card.
With your financial support, you help us create a place of prayer, learning, and interreligious and inclusive social dialogue.
Although we want to live a modern Judaism, the Jewish tradition literature is very important to us: The Torah, the other parts of the Jewish Bible and the Talmud. Jewish tradition and being at the pulse of time: for us, this fits together perfectly. Because Judaism has always placed the greatest value on education and learning. The word Talmud comes from the Hebrew word for learning. Continuing to learn is the best way to be contemporary.
We want to consolidate liberal Judaism in Cologne and beyond. Many of our members and prayers come from other places in the Rhineland, often with long distances. We are networked with synagogues in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and the whole world and are a member of the liberal state association of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the "Union of Progressive Jews" and the "World Union for Progressive Judaism".